Revisiting collisional broadening of ⁸⁵Rb Rydberg levels: conclusions for vapor cell manufacture

Electrometry based on electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in alkali Rydberg vapor cells may suffer reduced sensitivity due to spurious line broadening effects, caused by surface charges, contaminant gases, or other manufacturing defects. In order to draw conclusions about the deleterious effects of potential contaminant gases inside Rydberg electrometry vapor cells, we revisit collisional broadening and shifts of both the D₂ line and Rydberg levels of rubidium. Specifically, we measure the broadening and shifts of the 5S_1/2 → 5P_3/2 (i.e., the D₂ line) and 5S_1/2 → 5P_3/2 → (25D,27S,30D,32S,35D,37S) transitions of ⁸⁵Rb due to He, Ne, N₂ and Ar. By combining these measurements with observations of velocity changing collisions in the sub-Doppler spectrum of the D₂ line, we conclude the following: (1) that contaminant gases are most likely not the cause of irregular line shapes or shifts of Rydberg transitions due to the high pressures required, and (2) the sub-Doppler spectrum of the D₂ line, through its accompanying loss of contrast at high pressures, can validate that a vapor cell is sufficiently free of contaminant gas for EIT electrometry. We use the theory of Omont, J. Phys. France 38, 1343 (1977), to extend our results to a wide variety of possible contaminant gases and further derive scaling laws applicable to all gases.